New EU project aims to create first breathable treatment for Nipah virus

Over the next six years, the Horizon-funded initiative, HENIPROTECT, will bring together 18 partners across eight countries to tackle one of the most concerning emerging infectious diseases. 

What is Nipah virus?   

Nipah virus is a highly dangerous virus carried by fruit bats, which can host the virus without becoming ill themselves. These bats are widespread across parts of South-East Asia and Australia. 

While the virus usually spreads from animals to humans, it can also pass between people. This raises important concerns about possible future pandemics and preparing for them. 

Outbreaks tend to occur in rural or farming areas. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, cough and difficulty breathing. The infection can be severe and lead to death in up to 75 out of every 100 people who catch it. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Nipah virus as a ‘priority infectious disease’ and included it in its ‘Blueprint list’. This list highlights infectious diseases that pose the greatest risk to global health because they have the potential to cause major outbreaks or epidemics, and we currently lack adequate vaccines, cures, or treatments to stop them. 

Currently, there are no licensed preventions or treatments available – but the HENIPROTECT project aims to change this. 

What are the aims of HENIPROTECT?    

Supporting the European Union’s priorities to strengthen health security and prepare for potential future pandemics, HENIPROTECT aims to develop a new antibody treatment for the Nipah virus delivered by inhalation. This means it is delivered straight to the lungs by breathing it in. 

Antibodies are proteins the body makes naturally to fight off infections. When a virus or bacteria enters the body, antibodies recognise it and stop it from causing harm. An antibody treatment provides ready-made antibodies instead of waiting for the body to make its own. 

What will the project do? 

The project will: 

• Look at an antibody (called Nip35) that targets the Nipah virus and look at how it can be used in humans 

• Combine two antibodies that work in different ways for better protection against the virus 

• Test giving the antibody through breathing it in (inhalation) using mesh-nebulisation so it goes directly to the lungs where the virus infects 

• Set up manufacturing to produce the treatment to regulatory standards (this is known as Good Manufacturing Practice or GMP) 

• Run a human clinical trial in healthy volunteers to test safety 

• Develop a toolbox to counter emerging variants of the virus. 

The European Lung Foundation (ELF) will lead public-facing activities in the project and will be responsible for translating the scientific results into lay language for patients, carers, and the general public through various communication platforms. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) will lead scientific dissemination and overall communication planning. Through Lungs Europe, ELF and ERS will lead advocacy efforts, working to ensure Nipah virus remains on the EU health agenda. 

Overall, the project will not only deliver a crucial treatment for Nipah virus, but also establish a valuable blueprint for responding rapidly to future respiratory viral threats, in particular to other viruses of the same Henipavirus genus, like highly pathogenic Hendra virus. 

Financial statement 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.